US stocks were lower at midday on Friday, with energy shares extending recent losses after the Treasury department announced new sanctions against Russia. The market was on track to break a five-week string of gains. The S&P energy index was down 1.1 percent and among the day's worst-performing sectors. The group has come under pressure this week, during which it has shed 3 percent as crude oil prices fell. Exxon Mobil Corp and ConocoPhillips each lost 1 percent.
Shares of eBay were up 2.7 percent, the most actively traded issue on Nasdaq, though it pared earlier gains of as much as 4.7 percent after the company dismissed market speculation that Google Inc may be preparing to buy a slice of the company. The S&P 500 was on track for a loss of 0.9 percent for the week so far, which would break a five-week streak of gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 52.91 points, or 0.31 percent, to 16,996.09, the S&P 500 lost 8.63 points, or 0.43 percent, to 1,988.82 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 16.82 points, or 0.37 percent, to 4,574.99. Among the most active stocks on the NYSE were Sprint, up 5.48 percent to $6.93, and US-listed shares of Petrobras, down 4.20 percent to $16.89. Nasdaq's most active included Apple, up 0.4 percent to $101.85 and Yahoo, up 2.3 percent to $42.21.
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